puerperal disorder

a disorder occurring in a woman during the puerperium, which extends from the termination of labor to the return of the uterus to its prepregnant condition. Symptoms include psychotic and depressive reactions and, occasionally, manic episodes or delirious states precipitated by biological, psychosocial, or environmental factors. See postpartum depression; postpartum psychosis.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

node of Ranvier

any of successive regularly spaced gaps in the myelin sheath surrounding an axon. The gaps permit the exchange of ions across the plasma membrane at those points, allowing the nerve impulse to leap from one node to the next in so-called saltatory conduction along the axon. [Louis A. Ranvier (1835–1922), French pathologist]